Posts Tagged ‘ground’

An Israeli soldiers attending a training simulation of the ground war in Gaza, at a training base near Mount Hebron, Shabbat, November 17, 2012.

It’s been a tense Shabbat, up here, outside the range of the Hamas rockets. Although, supposedly, two rockets fell in Rammat HaSharon, well north of Tel Aviv and only about ten miles from Netanya.

Friday night we listened to the F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers flying over Netanya on their way south.

Shabbat in Shul, when the Ba’al Tefila before Musaf got to the part about asking God to watch over the IDF, everybody was silent, and said a very loud Amen. Normally that’s the part where you catch a brief schmooze about this and that with the guy standing next to you.

Some of us in shul were suspiciously better informed than the rest about what was going on, because they’d left their radio or TV on. Makes sense. When your own flesh and blood are in it, you must know.

So far, other than 1000 sorties of the IAF, there has been only a volley of artillery fire on Gaza, and the Navy has been targeting specific addresses in Gaza. Otherwise, no ground war yet.

IBA News reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to acquiesce to the Egyptian request to not shoot at the Gaza Strip during the visit of Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, which is expected to take place Friday morning and last about 3 hours.

A diplomatic source says this was the message that was transmitted back to Egypt, that the IDF will not shoot, provided that during the visit there will not be firing from Gaza into Israel.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon told Israel Radio that the IDF is prepared for a ground operation in the Gaza Strip if Hamas refuses to commit to along-term ceasefire. “We’ll wait and see when Hamas will understand the message; if the message does not get through via the Air Force – we will expand the operation, ” Ya’alon told Aryeh Golan on the “This Morning “show on Channel 2.

Ya’alon added that operation “Pillars of Defense” is being managed well and emphasized that one of the goals is the destruction of Hamas’ more advanced weapons they’ve acquired in recent years, especially the Iranian “Fajr” missiles which can reach Gush Dan (Tel Aviv). He said that only has a few missiles remaining of this type, and the IAF is now operating to also destroy the Grad rockets.

We request from the public to adhere to the directives of the IDF Homefront Command. When hearing a siren, enter the nearest secure area; bomb shelter or room with the least amount of external walls, windows and doors. It is forbidden to leave the safe area till 10 minutes after the siren was sounded. The municipality is now, at this very moment opening all the public bomb shelters

6:01 PM Since the rocket launch at Rishon, there is severe cellular service disruption. 5:59 PM 4 Grad rockets that were shot at Beer Sheva region were taken out by Iron Dome. Ambulances are scouring the area.

5:12 PM Mira Sharf HY”D, of Kiryat Melachi, killed this morning by rocket fire. Her husband Shmulik and and one year old son were also seriously injured. Their neighbor Aaron Semdaje HY”D was also murdered in the attack.Mira and Shmulik were planning to go to India to serve as Shluchim for Chabad. 4 years ago today (Rosh Chodesh Kislev) the Chabad Shlichim in Mumbai, India were murdered by Islamic terrorists.

5:03 PM Another barrage of rockets fired over Ashdod, air raid sirens sounding.

4:58 PM One of the rocket sites destroyed by Israel was dug in between an elementary school and a mosque. (Channel 10 news)

4:53 PM CONFIRMED: Grad missile lands in open area near Rishon L’Tzion.No injuries or wounded.

Yishai is joined by Mordecai Taub, an advisor for the Likud party and formerly involved with the Republican National Committee. Together, they talk about rocket attacks on southern Israel and the thought of a potential ground incursion by the Israel Defense Forces being used as a political movement by top Israeli leadership. They move on to talk about upcoming Israeli elections and how for the first time, Israelis are generally unsure of what party they will vote for in the elections. They end the segment by talking about the unsettling situation in Syria and how the Israeli government is working to ensure they aren’t drawn into the civil war that is raging there and also by discussing up and coming candidates to Israeli politics.

IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai said: “We are facing a lengthy period during which we must prepare resiliently at the home front, listen to instructions, and stay close to protected areas. In the coming hours, the smoke will continue to rise above Gaza. The Chief of staff in the war room and the Air Force proceeds with aggressive and accurate attacks. We are in the midst of a campaign that will keep increasing. There is no ‘Hourglass’ over this operation – we’ve received the green light from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense. If I were a senior Hamas official – I would be looking for a place to hide. There will be a ground operation should the need arise. Infantry brigades are being diverted to support the war effort.”

I’m not a fan of Shimon Peres – I have to be honest. If I look back over his career as a politician…well, I’d rather not.

By contrast, as a president, he’s been…well, not outstanding…and he’s said a lot of dumb things, like thanking the Russians for 1,000 years of hospitality to the Jewish people (to which Natan Sharansky properly responded that this was absurd … pogroms, laws outlawing Jews, refusing for decades to allow Jews freedom of practice, freedom of movement, etc.). It was, overall, a really dumb comment.

But Peres has his moments. He is very supportive of women. I heard him speak a few months ago. He spoke of men as babies and says women run the world, ground it, nurture it.

He is against the bombardment of Israel by Gaza rockets (who isn’t)…but his explanation, just one, of why this is so horrible, is sweet. Jewish mothers have the right to sleep at night, he says. He’s right, of course. I may not like his politics, but in this, he is so correct.

A barrage of rockets eight hours after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has brought a quick end to the quiet, with Israel ramping up preparations for possible ground reprisals to end attacks from Gaza on civilians in Israel’s south.

No one was physically injured in Netivot on Monday morning when a Grad rocket landed in the yard of a house. The building was heavily damaged, and twenty six people were treated for shock.

Reports indicate that Monday morning saw at least 11 more rockets fired toward Hof Ashkelon and the Eshkol regions, with two landing in unpopulated areas and two being taken down by Iron Dome missile defense systems.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with foreign diplomats on Monday to brief them on the situation in Gaza and prepare their countries for the possibility of an Israeli military strike in the terror hotbed.